Attacking the jackfruit

I’ve had a few vac packs of jackfruit at the back of the food press since I attempted Veganuary earlier in the year . I managed three weeks before throwing in the towel because I was really craving a piece of salmon (it was amazing). Jackfruit is an exotic fruit native to India which is now increasingly used as a plant based meat substitute due to its stringy texture which resembles meat fibres.  I found this brand in Holland and Barrett on sale for about a euro but at full price it retails at almost four euro a packet.

This wasn’t my first attempt at eating vegan for a period of time.  I managed to complete six weeks a couple of years ago when I experimented lots with vegan cheese making and all sorts of fun stuff. I was much lazier this time, relying too much on convenience foods and bread and just never got around to playing with the jackfruit.

Jackfruit is most commonly turned into big fat fake pulled pork sandwiches in the vegan world but I decided not to bother with those as I'm just not a big fan of sugary BBQ sauce at the best of times.

Instead, I chose to make some peanut and miso jackfruit noodles which I figured would have enough punch to compensate for what I expected to be a pretty bland ingredient. 

I have to say the jackfruit looked did look quite a bit like pork when opened. I tasted a piece raw and it was pretty tasteless with only a faint briny note detectable.   It contained some weird knobbly bits which freaked me out a bit as they really did look like some of the less appetising parts of  real pulled pork.  

I broke it up a bit with a spatula before browning it in some oil which made it look even more meaty. You might believe this was pork when you looked at it but one taste would tell you that were very wrong.

I did enjoy this stir fry but the jackfruit just brought nothing to the party. The famed meaty texture wasn't even discernible amongst the other ingredients. I'll probably throw the two packets I have left into something or other but probably wouldn't bother buying it again. 

Jackfruit noodles with peanut miso sauce 

Peanut miso sauce

- 1 tbs miso paste

- 2 tbs peanut butter

- 1 tbs soy sauce

- 2 cloves garlic

- 1 tsp ginger paste

- 2 tbs rice vinegar

- 2 tbs sweet chilli sauce

- splash water

Stir fry

- 1 packet jackfruit, drained

- 1 cup mixed chopped peppers (I used frozen)

- 2 spring onions, chopped

- chilli flakes to taste

- medium egg noodles

1) blend all sauce ingredients together to a smooth paste. Set aside.

2) Season jackfruit and fry in oil for 3-4 minutes until browned

3) add peppers and fry until softened.

4) add sauce (you may not need it all)

5) Finish with chopped spring onions and chilli flakes. 

Old fashioned brownies (cocoa powder only)

My mam baked only now and then when we were young, usually a tray of queen cakes which we would then be invited to cover with royal icing to hide the black spots (sorry mammy), eve’s pudding (remember that?) and the odd ‘cake' of soda bread which was round with a cross on top as distinct from a loaf. 

Of course, there were also the obligatory Rice Krispie buns for parties (or more commonly in our house, cornflake buns which didn't seem quite as exciting at the time). Like most households, the baking centre-piece was the thickly iced Christmas cake which was adorned with the latest in 80s mini Santas and trees and proudly presented each year . 

Brownies only came into my consciousness well into my teenage years and I was instantly a huge fan. This happened to be at the height of my chocolate obsession and their fudgey goodness seemed to offer the perfect antithesis to teenage angst,  unrequited love and all the other desperate things I had to suffer.

Most brownie recipes today seem to contain a good amount of high cocoa percentage chocolate in replacement of some (or all) of the traditional cocoa powder. I've made (very nice) brownies like this on a few occasions but always half resented using up all of my black (70-85 per cent) chocolate like that. With most of the chocolate- heavy recipes requiring a minimum of 70 per cent cocoa solids in the first place, I figured I'd get back to basics for this week's treat for the Roses tub and see if my flittered packet of cocoa powder was up to the job.

It definitely was. These were just as nice as the chocolate-heavy batch I made a couple of weeks ago and I am definitely a convert to going old school on the brownie baking and saving my chocolate for emergencies (they happen!). The addition of a few chopped dates gave some caramel chew and this batch was optimistically cut into 1 inch squares in an attempt to enforce some discipline on this increasingly sugar reliant house.

I am learning slowly that under-cooking really is the key to a delicious fudgey brownie. If you happen to prefer  a cakier texture in yours, I'm sorry,  but we just can't be friends. 

As I said already, we didn't have brownies in our house when we were small but if we had, we would probably have used this recipe which you can find here..

My first go at sourdough

Like so many others, baking is emerging to be a central theme of my lock-down.  As housebound activities go it really is a good one, allowing as it does for some creativity as well as the obvious benefit of enjoying eating what you produce. Furthermore, baking smells are surely the most comforting of all and God knows we could all do with a bit of that right now.

I have made a good deal of naan, pizza bases and soda breads in my time but had only attempted a 'normal' white loaf on two occasions. I am sorry to say that both efforts were dense, tasteless and quickly fired in the bin. However, I am delighted to reveal that I redeemed myself slightly last weekend.  

Sourdough is traditionally risen with what’s known as a 'starter' instead of yeast. This yields a slow rise which also gives the bread its characteristic chewy crust and distinctive tang. In theory, a sourdough starter can be comprised of only flour and water which is then left for several days to allow for natural yeasts in the air to activate the fermentation process. However, my Google search taught me that there are also starter recipes which include live yogurt as an ingredient. This seemed to be a safer bet to me so I went with that option for my first attempt.

                                                           
Day one involved the combination of flour, water and live yogurt into a paste which was then left loosely covered overnight (I read that sealed jars have been known to explode so played it safe on this). More flour was then added on day two and I was delighted to see that there was some definite bubble action going on. By day five it was looking somewhat more active but not nearly as much as I expected. A quick flick through my cookbooks showed me that Rachel Allen is ok with adding instant yeast to her sourdough.  Having at last got my hands on some thanks to my friend Ann, I snuck in a precious sachet feeling like something of a fraud. That did the trick and I actually thought the jar would bubble over.

                                                            
                                                        

I am (very) early on in my bread-making journey but have learned a lot from just this one loaf mainly the fundamental importance of patience.  The recipe advised that the bread would take between 4-8 hours to rise depending on the room temperature. After five hours, there was some definite growth and I could wait no longer. On reflection I should have. My resulting loaf was a bit flat and I knew even before I baked it that it hadn't fulfilled its potential. Though the end result was very tasty and sourdough-like with a fantastic chewy crust it was also rather close in texture and lacking those big distinctive air-holes.

                                                      

However, I now have hope! After this (limited) success, bread-making doesn't seem to be quite as mysterious as before. My (yeast- enhanced) starter is now sleeping in the fridge and apparently all I have to do to revive it is bring it to room temperature and feed it with flour and water before using again (it should be 'fed' weekly). I will absolutely throw in another sachet of instant yeast if necessary to help it along. Sourdough snobs might not approve of that but if I get to have the satisfaction of taking a big fat perfect crusty loaf out of the oven I really couldn't care less. I'll just have to learn to have some patience.

A great naan bread for these yeastless times

I fell in love with Indian food the first time I visited a 'real' Indian restaurant. I especially love the way in which this particular cuisine lends itself so well to the concept of sharing and man, I really really love the naan.

I had intended to order a takeaway this past weekend but on hearing that the (best) local Indian had temporarily closed its doors, I once again turned to the Curry Guy for inspiration. Dan Toombs is a US native who now lives in the UK and has meticulously researched and documented how to create hundreds of authentic Indian and 'British Restaurant Style' curries. For my little curry night, I cooked his chicken tikka masala, saag aloo and chana masala. The first recipe involves several stages and takes a good degree of effort but sure I had a bit of time on my hands and the end result was very good.

Then there was the issue of the naan bread. I'm all for a shortcut at the best of times but would honestly rather do without than eat that strangely sweet, rubbery pre-made naan from the shops. It's just offensive. However, with the recent surge in home-baking during this pandemic, yeast has become almost impossible to find either on supermarket shelves or online. The packet I had in the press was so old it was no longer active so I knew I would have to look for another option.

Luckily, Dan came up with the goods again with this fantastic yeast free recipe. What's even better is that, once proved, it can be made on a hot frying pan in just minutes. I was surprised that it needed proving at all given that it contained no yeast but it is still a crucial part of the dough making process. In place of yeast, he includes Greek yogurt, the bacteria in which raises the dough more slowly over a longer period of time but which gives a very tasty, chewy result.

I cooked up some of the dough after about 12 hours and the remainder 24 hours later. Both batches were delicious (especially when brushed with garlic butter) but I would say the longer proved naan had a slight edge.

I was so happy with this naan bread and would choose to make it again and again over a standard yeast dough. It's so good that I'm actually planning on using the recipe soon to make pizza (minus the nigella seeds). I'd better keep getting those (Government sanctioned) walks in or at this rate I won't be able to get out the door.

Recalling my first date (and a tasty loaf recipe)

I have to admit that my first date (of the edible variety) was a real disappointment . It probably doesn't say much for my priorities in life when I genuinely don't recall much about my first romantic one but remember the first one I ever ate with absolute clarity.

 The main reason I felt so let down was that this particular scene in my childhood story was set for something really amazing. It was Christmas for a start and I was visiting my uncle's house where the brightly coloured and individually wrapped box of treats I was presented with was surely going to be something special. The four year old me lived in a sugar saturated world and knew well that this elaborate packaging was just bound to represent a superior treat in the line of a much loved Viscount or Penguin.

 Its toffee hued appearance when unwrapped only elevated my expectations further but as I bit into it I was greatly let down by something that seemed bland and underwhelming. This was the source of great amusement for the adults present and I remember feeling at the time that I had been rightly duped.

Perspective, however, is a wonderful thing and many years later, I would come to see dates in a very different light when I gave up refined sugar for a six month period in my twenties. During that time, they sweetened up smoothies nicely and even meant that I could enjoy a (healthier) brownie or cookie now and then.

My opinion on them now probably lies somewhere between the two extremes but I do know they make a fantastic pairing with banana and banana bread is the obvious thing to reach to make when you have spotty bananas like this in the fruit bowl.

Because I am keen not to take too much solace in sweets during isolation, I refrained from buying any chocolate or junk in my last shop. However, I was struck by a serious sugar craving this weekend and decided to make a banana, date and walnut loaf (well, two to be precise).

I doubled up on this banana bread recipe, adding in a handful each of chopped dates and toasted walnuts. The low fat content in this recipe gives a result that is more akin to standard bread than other banana bread recipes I have tried in the past but a bit of butter helps with that issue greatly. I think toasting would improve it even further. 

Lots of my friends and family are also baking up a storm during this crisis and I'm really enjoying seeing and hearing about (if not tasting) their efforts. This is my little contribution for this week, a good solid recipe that can be modified very easily. (I think chocolate chips would be another great addition).

Using up that quare stuff at the back of the press

In these strangest of days, I have once again turned to food. While I haven't (quite) been polishing off biscuits by the packet, these incredible times have reiterated to me both the emotional role food plays in our lives and the fact that there really are few greater acts of love than feeding those we hold dear.  And so, more than four years since it last saw the light of day, I am once again resurrecting this blog.

I'm sure I'm not alone in embracing any semblance of normality I can at this time when almost all that we know has been utterly turned on its head. Because of my failure to source Dettol and disinfect the place on repeat like the rest of you, I don't mind admitting that I have instead been washing and drying clothes almost constantly (and sometimes unnecessarily). For me, the hum of the machines has never been more soothing, symbolising glorious normality at its most basic. Similarly, as the hours spent at home have turned into days, the pattern of preparing meals has lent a sense of structure to my time in the house. 

For very obvious reasons, I’m adverse to making unnecessary supermarket trips and mindful not to buy a second of anything for fear of leaving someone else short. Prior to this craziness, I was  someone who unashamedly took full advantage of my shopping freedom, visiting Lidl most days (sometimes even twice) and throwing pretty much whatever I fancied for dinner that night in the trolley but with the planet having seemingly shifted off its axis, that can of course no longer continue. 

I am trying hard to shop just once a week (for both my mam and I together) and also now feel a genuine moral obligation to try harder than ever not to be wasteful with the food we are lucky enough to have in the cupboards and fridge (purchased both pre and post pandemic).

Though it's also in a state of chaos, I have to say that I really love my extra large food cupboard/ larder. I am well aware that many houses these days have elaborate walk-in pantries, outdoor pizza ovens and many other amazing features but when I came to view our house a couple of years ago, the kitchen storage was probably the stand out thing that made me most excited about the prospect of living here. For context, I had just moved home to Mayo after 16 years in the capital which finished with a stint in a horribly overpriced, stinking bedsit in Dublin 8 where I had close to no kitchen or counter space and literally had to sit on my bed in order to chop an onion. To me this standard three bed semi and its abundance of storage was a veritable palace. I snapped it up and promptly began to fill it with food!

I’m lucky to be able to say that my kitchen cupboards and freezer are now quite full of all manner of weird and wonderful things because I have simply gotten lazy and unadventurous but I’ve decided that this is the ideal time for me to challenge myself by changing that and documenting the results here. Having once been a fairly adventurous and experimental cook, I have found myself in a bit of a rut, cooking the same old things week after week. There are so many items I need to use from tahini and miso to panko breadcrumbs and including some older items (that I will have to examine closely before consuming!). Now that we no longer have the luxury of flying down to the supermarket on a whim because we happen to fancy a roast chicken and with no certainty in terms of what still lies ahead, I figure that making do with what we have to hand might be a useful skill to master.

I have to say that I have the utmost of respect for all of the supermarket workers who are working at the coalface of this crisis with little money or thanks.The medical staff are quite rightly receiving high praise from all quarters, crowd funded meals and huge respect and of course that is all richly deserved. However, our retail workers are also doing a heroic and absolutely essential job for a whole lot less money and without the same levels of respect. I see that Aldi announced yesterday that they are to give all staff a 10% raise and hopefully others will follow suit.  After all, if we can't eat we simply can't survive and we all owe those who show up each day in these uncertain times a huge debt of gratitude.

Though I ate plenty of the over-salted packet sort as a teenager (usually alongside a white bread cheese sandwich), soup wouldn't usually appear on my shortlist of favourite foods. Perhaps it was its 'hug in a mug' connotations that encouraged me make some yesterday or maybe it was its reputation as a good old staple at a time when things feel less than secure. In any case. it helped clear out the overflowing vegetable drawer nicely.

Soup really is the perfect vehicle to use up tired vegetables be they slightly withered with age or ice- burned from spending too long in the depths of the freezer. It is also very forgiving of adaptations. To make a simple vegetable soup,  I started with one onion, gently fried in butter, adding about seven medium sized carrots, most of a celeriac (head?)half a packet of diced swede (that must have been in the freezer for a year), a few shrunken potatoes, a couple of handfuls of frozen peas, about 750ml of vegetable stock and finishing with a good glug of milk added to a basic flour and butter roux to thicken it a little further and add to the creaminess.

The lot then simmered on medium for about 25 minutes before blending and finishing with some extra peas. I also added a teaspoon each of garlic and onion powder (not salt! I made that mistake once!).Another mistake I made was adding in a very pungent Tesco herb and garlic stock pot towards the end of cooking.Though still very tasty to eat, I found it took from the gentle sweetness of the root vegetables a little and I will be wary of using these so liberally in the future. It still made a great lunch together with some soda bread I made using this very simple recipe with the addition of a few chia and sunflower seeds. I am sorry that I don't have a picture of the finished soup but I'm simply out of practice. Here is one of the bread instead and I promise to try to be a better blogger in future. 

I dropped some soup to my mam and dad (from a safe distance) and, in the absence of real hugs,  it seemed to to be something of a substitute. It certainly wasn't fancy but transformed a good amount of weary ingredients into something very edible (including some very questionable flour which I used in both the bread and soup).It was nourishing, simple and good for the soul because in these weird days here on planet earth surely that needs feeding too.

These are mad times and I believe they will change us all in many ways that are yet to be revealed. My own journey of change starts with tackling that food press. 

Breadless Benedict with Smoked Salmon and 1 Egg Hollandaise.

Ah Eggs Benedict - one of my favourite things to eat in the whole word and also one of the dishes I have been most frequently disappointed with in restaurants over the years.

Like so many of the best things in life, it is this dish's simplicity which makes it so perfect, the double creamy hit of the runny egg yolks and the hollandaise together with the salty pieces of ham or smoked salmon, all piled up on something to mop it all up (traditionally English Muffins or in this case wilted spinach) but God, I've had some horrors with rubbery hard egg yolks, bland sauces and rubbish quality ingredients all too commonly served up. And considering Benedicts usually cost about 12 quid a pop and given that they contain relatively inexpensive ingredients,  you really should expect to be right. Despite this, I keep ordering it because when it's good,  it's so very very good.


Since I started eating properly, I have been getting regular cravings for different foods which I didn't really before (with the exception of sweets and rubbish). I'm not sure if that has something to do with my body getting accustomed to being properly fed and in turn really missing something that's not there or not. In any case, all  last week it was canned tuna and last night it was smoked salmon.And I had some in the fridge. Whoop.

                                       

I have tried to make hollandaise in a blender before with just mediocre results. In theory it seems like it would be foolproof/ much easier but in practice it didn't thicken nearly as much as I'd like. Last night, I made this one the old school way, using a recent tip I picked up of using a sieve to keep the base of the bowl separate from the water.  It worked very well.

Ingredients

Hollandaise sauce
1 large egg yolk
I heaped tbs butter
1tbs lemon juice
1tbs hot water
dash of cayenne pepper
salt and black pepper to taste

2 eggs
2-3 slices smoked salmon (I like Lidl's)
1 medium bag baby spinach leaves (yes, a whole bag, you will be left with a couple of tablespoons when it wilts down)
1tsp butter
6-8 asparagus tips, roasted in olive oil
1tbs vinegar

Method

This isn't particularly tricky to make but it does involve the juggling of a few different elements simultaneously.

1) Having given the asparagus a 5 minute head start in a preheated oven, set up your double boiler for your sauce and a wide pan for your eggs, bringing some water in both to a slow simmer.

2) Slowly melt the butter for the spinach in another pan, adding it gradually until all cooked down (about 3-5 minutes only) Season well.

3) Whisk the egg yolk with the tbs of hot water and set over the sieve if using. You will have to whisk it almost constantly now for the next 5 minutes.

4) After about 3 minutes or so, add vinegar to egg poaching water and then the eggs.

5) When the egg yolk/ hot water mix has thickened to a point that it coats the back of a spoon, gradually add the butter and continue to whisk. At this point I was taking it on and off the heat like a mad woman but we got there in the end.Add lemon juice, cayenne, salt and black pepper to taste.

6) Drain as much water as possible out of the spinach (I tried my best but you can see that some remained...next time I think I'll wring it out in kitchen towel!

7) Pile it up high, feel smug that your hollandaise worked and enjoy. Who needs bread?!

Thai Style Pork Burgers with Avocado Cream

So once again, I've been a bad blogger, having not posted anything in 2 weeks. Where did the time go?! I have no idea. And I resolve to do better. I made these last night for some buddies and they went down well so I thought I'd stick them up here.

Pork mince isn't something I've cooked with very much in the past. I think I always assumed it to be a bit bland and uninspiring but these spicy little burgers are neither of those things.

I am all about convenience and, though I always buy free range chicken I don't always look for a higher welfare standard in terms of pork and other meat. If it's there, I will buy it but I'm not sure where apart from Marks and Spencer carries such a range?Eating non- welfare standard meat does play on my mind to some degree......but I guess not enough to make me stop buying it for the moment. In any case, this was just standard mince from Lidl and very nice it was too.

We ate these in iceberg lettuce leaf 'wraps' with some carrot and pepper salad, for a tasty,  quick weeknight dinner.



Ingredients

Burgers

500g pork mince
2tbs chopped coriander
2tbs chopped parsley
2tbs thai red curry paste
3-4 spring onions, chopped
dash soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 tsp black pepper
1tsp garlic powder
1 tsp chilli flakes
1tsp onion powder
150g mushrooms chopped
1tbs olive oil

Avocado cream

2 large ripe avocados
pinch salt
juice of 1 juicy lime

To make:

Fry the mushrooms in the oil until browned and any excess liquid is rendered out. Allow to cool.

Mix all other ingredients together until well combined using a fork if you're squeamish like me or your hands if not for a better mix. Mix in the cooled mushroom mixture.

Form into small patties(I used about 1tbs of mixture for each), flash fry in a pan to brown and cook through in a preheated oven.

To make the avocado cream, whizz the three ingredients in a blender just before serving (or it will go manky and brown).

Eat

Amazing Avocado Banana Chocolate Pudding

The word 'superfood ' seems a bit overused these days but I really think that avocados are worthy of that title. They're so tasty and versatile and you just know all that vitamin and mineral-rich oiliness is doing your body a world of good. I usually just eat them as they are with lime and salt or make them into guacamole and have it with fish but I am only beginning to discover the starring role that they can also play in sweet treats.

                     

Avocados can also be a great source of frustration. It seems that one minute they are as hard as a bullet and hours later bruised black and inedible. But when you get lucky and cut into a perfectly ripe one like this it really is a beautiful thing. I think that chart below sums up the problem pretty well.

   
                                  


I used to crave and eat something processed,fatty and sugary pretty much every day before I decided to overhaul my diet. Most of it was unsatisfying, leading me to crave more rubbish and overeat. So I haven't been eating many sweets in recent months. And I really haven't missed them much at all. But on one particularly grey evening recently, I realised that only something creamy and sweet and chocolatey would do so I decided to have a play with my blender and to make an avocado based chocolate pudding .


                   

Having come across various healthy chocolate desserts online, I knew that many of them were based on blended avocados possibly with the addition of ripe bananas. I had both so I blended them up and added cocoa, cinnamon and a little bit of salt. I had also been prepared to add some sweetener but found that it actually didn't need it at all. However, this may be down to my heightened sweet tooth after eating so few processed sweets as my friend I fed it to enjoyed it but didn't find it to be particularly sweet.  A word of warning however and that is that the stage of ripeness of your banana and avocado can be game changers here. If either are under-ripe, this could quickly become a bland, lumpy mess. With cocoa powder. (Yum.)

But when these are right this really is surprisingly indulgent, creamy and chocolatey whilst also being incredibly nutritious. It also has plenty of scope for adaptation - I think that peanut butter would be great, and I also fancy trying out a coffee version.

                               

Ingredients

1 ripe avocado
2 medium ripe bananas(skin lightly spotted)
2 heaped tbs cocoa powder (add gradually, you may need or more or less to taste)
2 tsp cinnamon
large pinch salt

Instructions

Add avocado and bananas to blender and blend until smooth. Add the cocoa powder, cinnamon and salt gradually, tasting as you go. You may find it needs a little honey or maple syrup but so far I have been lucky with the sweetness of my bananas.

Eat immediately or, if you can wait, chill in the fridge for a couple of hours and it will be even nicer.

Serve with some roasted hazelnuts and raspberries for a really yummy guilt-free treat.

Cauliflower Crust Pizza - Round One

It is said that if something seems too good to be true then in all likelihood it probably is. There are many examples of this - San Tropez in-shower tan, a very famous and handsome American actor contacting you via a dating website, - I could go on. Based solely on my results to date, I should add cauliflower crust pizza to that list. But I'm not ready to just yet.

If you have an interest in food, you will no doubt be aware that the internet is currently abuzz with all things cauliflower which has been hailed as the new super healthy, low carb substitute for a whole host of dishes. People are using it as replacement 'rice' (which I tried with good success), chopped up and roasted with parmesan into a (questionable) bite sized popcorn alternative (which I haven't tried)  and, most thrillingly of all, as the main ingredient in a healthy, flourless pizza base.

                             

I had been so excited to try this having seen some of the amazing results and reviews posted online. Pizza was my favourite food I (over) ate in my fat days so I wanted so badly to believe it was possible to eat it freely without an accompanying side of the dough-induced lethargy I am now glad to be without. After much research I chose this recipe which had received loads of amazing feedback.

To be fair it started (and ended) pretty badly as I think my cauliflower was gone off . As soon as I milled it up in the food processor it stank the apartment out to the point where I was embarrassed at the thought of passers by smelling it through the open window (and I live on the first floor). However, because I'm not a very regular cauliflower eater I foolishly overlooked this. It's only since I made some (nice) cauliflower 'rice' at the weekend with a non stinky one that I really realised it was probably off (ew).

                              

These cauliflower crust recipes involve steaming or microwaving your ground up cauliflower for a few minutes and then (when cooled) squeezing it through a tea- towel until absolutely no moisture remains. This is, in effect, your 'flour' to which is added mozzarella cheese (I had none so subbed cheddar), parmesan (had none of that either so added more cheddar......), an egg and a few other bits. On reflection, having reread that last line, perhaps there were more factors affecting the outcome of this recipe than the dodgy cauliflower alone.

                               

The above photo was taken after the base had cooked for 10 minutes in the oven (you have to do this before you add the toppings). At this point, it looked great and my flatmate and I were very excited at the thought of enjoying this amazing healthy pizza but it didn't quite work out like that.

I'm sorry I don't have photos but, you'll have to take my word for it that, despite my best efforts to squeeze all the water out of the cooked cauliflower,  it definitely didn't hold up as a slice in your hand(as promised). In fact, it was pretty soggy. And it definitely didn't taste very nice either, a bit 'earthy' for want of a better word. Still, we got to eat some melted cheese so all was not lost.

However, I definitely believe that if I make it again with a fresh, non-stinky cauliflower, somehow manage to squeeze even more water out of it,  and use the correct cheeses instead of lobbing in whatever I have to hand, it will be a thing of beauty. I believe it because I've imagined it now and it has to be.

                                              

'Carrot Cake' Super Porridge

I know that we are always hearing about its importance but I'm really not much of a breakfast eater, mainly just opting for a piece of fruit or two on weekday mornings. This may well be down to my tendency to eat a bit too much at night but what can I say,  I love a good evening-time munch.

At the weekends though I do like to have a little play with breakfasty things, even if I often eat them at lunch or dinner time instead of first thing. I had made these intriguingly titled Carrot Cake Pancakes  a couple of times recently and liked them a lot. They made me think that similar ingredients could work well in porridge form.

I am really a pretty new porridge eater. I think people react to oats differently and they never made me feel great when I just ate a big plain bowl of them in the past. I used to get that carby bloated feeling.   In fact, even though I know it's long been renowned for its high satiety factor, I always imagined that eating porridge actually made me hungrier and even gave me cravings later in the day. Here, a smaller volume of actual oats and the addition of lots of nutritious extras like mixed nuts and flax and chia seeds ups the protein content and makes for an entirely more satisfying eating experience.

                                   

Apart from the odd packet of dry roasted in the pub, nuts and seeds are things I almost never ate in the past. Now, I have some almost every day, my favourites being pecans and hazelnuts (Lidl have amazing quality nuts at great prices). Another revelation for me was discovering that pretty much any selection of nuts and seeds make the most amazing snack when roasted with just a little bit of olive oil and soy sauce and sprinkled with chilli flakes -  all the saltiness and munchability of crisps but with a welcome dose of goodness. Just don't make more than you plan on eating. You will not be able to stop.

But back to this porridge which sounds a bit mad but, believe it or not, really does taste a lot like carrot cake! I didn't add them but some raisins or sultanas would work very well here too.  I don't eat much dried fruit these days as I find that even a handful has a similar effect on my blood sugar to eating a Mars bar. I'm all for a bit of sweetness though and I had intended to add some maple syrup of honey here but found that it (bizarrely) didn't need it. The only sweetness is from the carrots and desiccated coconut. However, I've found that the pinch of salt is an essential addition, making the natural sweetness much more pronounced.

I'm trying to replace some of the dairy in my diet with non dairy alternatives at the moment so I have used almond milk in this recipe. The dessert factor of this is upped with the addition of a dollop of (full fat) Greek yogurt and a few more toasted nuts sprinkled on top. My flattie even had it last week with ice-cream! Either way, this creamy, spiced, nutty porridge really is magically indulgent and virtuous all at once. What's not to like?!


                                


'Carrot Cake' Super Porridge

3 tbs porridge oats

1 tbs ground flax seed

1 tbs chia seeds

1 tbs mixed seeds (sunflower, pumpkin etc, roasted)

1-2 tbs nuts(roasted) (walnuts or pecans are especially good. I used almonds, hazelnuts and walnuts today)

1 tbs desiccated coconut

1 - 2 tsp cinnamon (start with one and add more to taste. I like lots)

1/2 tsp mixed spice

1/4 tsp salt

1 American cup measure of grated carrot(about 2 medium or 1 large carrot)

250 - 300 mls milk (cows/almond/coconut etc)

Raisins (optional)

Full Fat Greek Yogurt to serve

To make

To be fair the directions here are pretty basic.

Roast the nuts and seeds in a preheated oven for about 10 minutes.

Mix everything else together in a saucepan and cook on a low to medium heat for about   5 - 7 minutes until thickened and the carrots are softened.

Enjoy

The Joy of Aldi's Super Six

I quite like getting older for the most part. I'm 32 now and to be honest the sense of just not giving a shit about many of the things I would once have agonized over that accompanied my transition into this particular decade was a welcome surprise for me.I genuinely wouldn't wish to revert back to my twenties and the insecurities that came with them, laughter lines or no laughter lines.

It's certainly true that, for me, getting older has brought a much deeper appreciation for the simple things in life - finding a parking spot I can drive straight into (and, better still, straight out of), coming across a forgotten fiver in an old jacket , and, rightly or wrongly, the rush of anticipation that accompanies the announcement of a new Aldi Super Six fruit and vegetable offer.

To be honest, I am much more of a Lidl fan and this is pretty much the only thing that brings me to Aldi (that and their amazing spicy chorizo....in my opinion the Lidl version has more than a slight whiff of donkey about it.) In terms of choice and quality, I think Lidl definitely has the edge in fruit and veg and overall but Aldi's amazing Super Six offer alone usually makes a trip well worthwhile.

One of the perks of my recent move to the wilds of Santry is having a massive branch of both nearby. And with the glut of 'save ten euro when you spend fifty' coupons in the papers in recent weeks, I have been unashamedly visiting both.

The offer involves a rotating selection of fruit and vegetables priced as low as 29 cents and as high as 79 and is, perhaps unsurprisingly, sometimes much better than others. Last week it was amazing, offering 2 packs of avocados and courgettes at an unbelievable 29 cents each.  This week was a little less thrilling, involving a selection of more boring things like apple and pear punnets priced at a still very cheap 49 cents.

On a good week, this offer makes me feel like I imagine a looter would, loading up the trolley with wild abandon. But even on a not so good week it's still pretty good. I realise I am not painting myself in the best light here but I have recently been been dreaming of what my own fantasy super six selection might be (since you ask, avocados, courgettes, bananas, grapes, pak choi and asparagus, all down to 29 cents ). On second thoughts, however,  that might just send me over the edge.... I certainly wouldn't be able to close the fridge door for a week.

Annie's New Appetite

Well blog-land, it's been a while. And a lot has changed over the past 13 months. I am now single and have lost over two stone (could I be any more of a cliché?!)  but, more than that, I have gained an understanding of the absolutely life-changing impact proper nutrition can have, not only on your body, but also (and so much more importantly) on your mood and general happiness. 

My friend Jenny would probably tell you that I'm not on any healthy eating plan that she's aware of, given that our joint quest to find the best chicken wings in Dublin continues every few weeks (currently heading up the leader-board if you're interested is the Oarsman in Ringsend) but I am increasingly gaining less enjoyment from big blow outs and more satisfaction from instead making healthier versions of my favourite treats myself......hence I have resurrected this blog.

Many years ago,  I read an article written by radio presenter Gareth O'Callaghan in which he claimed to have cured himself of depression through healthy diet alone. I was skeptical then but, whilst I was certainly never depressed, eating a primarily whole food diet over the past eight months has honestly transformed both my mood and my very outlook on life to a degree I never thought possible.

I have grown to hate the term in recent years but I am a 'foodie' and I suppose I always have been. I was a little piglet as a child and was later torn between studying Food Science and English in college before eventually opting for the latter. I spend more time than most people would deem normal each day mentally planning my next meal. For years, I thought that my lifelong love of food and my overindulgence on things like sugary desserts and pizzas the size of car wheels just went hand in hand. Looking back, I mentally resigned myself to carry the extra weight as a pay-off for the privilege of eating delicious food. I now know it doesn't have to be that way.

I firmly believe that the food pyramid has a lot to answer for in terms of society's over-reliance on refined carbohydrates which offer so little nutritionally. I think the Irish version badly needs updating like Australia's recently was (thanks for that Anne:))

For me it's a no-brainer that instead of advocating a large consumption of flour and grains, the bottom shelf of the pyramid should instead be populated by totally unrefined foods such as fruits and vegetables which provide the body with so much goodness. One of the biggest changes I have made in terms of my day to day diet is replacing the pasta in my meals with vegetables. Wilted spinach or courgettes (spiralized if you wish, I just slice them) are particularly good replacements and this means that I can still enjoy bolognese, blue cheese and pretty much all my favourite pasta sauces and toppings in a much healthier, more energizing and equally tasty way.

In the past, I almost felt sorry for people who chose to eat a primarily whole food, protein and plant heavy diet like I do now. I thought that their food must be so boring and that they were somehow missing out or desperately depriving themselves. All I can say is I was very wrong.  I now enjoy my food more than ever, even though I rarely or never eat a lot of the things I did before. The flip side of that is that my diet has expanded hugely in terms of what I do actually eat.

I'm pretty ashamed to admit this publicly but before last summer I often didn't know if I was genuinely hungry or not. I ate lunch every day because it was lunch-time not because my body told me I should.  The way I eat now is not about restriction but instead about trying to give your body what it needs when it needs it. As 'new age' as it sounds, it's ultimately about listening to your body and feeding it correctly in return. I thought that was a load of rubbish but I have learned that (with some practice) it really works and the rewards are huge.

Like most women, I would be lying if I said weight wasn't an ongoing concern for me. And losing this weight has made me feel lighter and happier. But that absolutely hasn't been the only benefit of the changes I've made to my diet. The crazy daily cycles of cravings and energy crashes I had from all the white flour, sugar and other rubbish I was eating have totally gone. I feel invigorated and full of life, more confident, optimistic and better able to cope with stress. Let's be honest, if a tablet could do all these things, it would be an instant sell out!

I've probably eaten bread and refined sugar a combined total of five or six times in the last eight months. I'm not saying I never will again (I still pretty much eat whatever I'm offered at a wedding or if I'm invited to someone's house) but I've learned that, for me, the payoff from avoiding those things on a daily basis far outweighs any feelings of deprivation I might have.  I used to have an unbelievable capacity for pizza. It really was my Achilles heel. Now, I honestly cant see myself endlessly eating doughy, bland Dominos ever again. However, an occasional, proper, delicious stone-oven baked one would be a quite a different story.

This has also been a process of trial and error. In the beginning,as I cut carbs, I overdid it on the dairy which in turn gave me horrendous spots, the likes of which I never even had as a teen. I'm still looking for the balance and I will aim to use this blog to hopefully challenge myself to learn more and to hopefully ultimately become a better cook, even if it only proves to be an online diary for myself. I am now enjoying my food more than ever and hopefully that will be reflected in this new Annie's Appetite focusing on a diet based on vibrant,  healthy, living foods over processed, dead, unhealthy ones. 

I started with one cliché so I may as well finish with another. Life really is a journey and we are all constantly learning. I've learned a few things since I last wrote here and I am looking forward to learning some more. And you are all very welcome to join me!

Review: An Bhialann, Ranelagh Village

Restaurants come and go in the village all the time and we try to sample them all asap for fear we'd miss out on something really special.With the exception of the excellent tapas restaurant La Bodega, we haven't, but still the search goes on.  An Bhialinn has been on the our list now for a few weeks and we decided to give it a go on a particularly hungry Monday evening when neither of us could face cooking.

Located on the old site of Eatery 120, the new owners don't seem to have changed much in terms of the restaurant's interior. Trying out the early bird menu is always a good way to test a new place without breaking the bank and that is what we decided to do.  And, as early birds go it was good, offering a choice of 4 starters , 4 mains and a couple of desserts. It was also, thankfully, free of the supplements which too often blight such 'value' menus. This menu is actually available all evening Monday - Thursday and all day Sunday.  with two courses costing €24 and 3 €27.50

To start, we each chose the selection of three deep fried cheeses - blue goat and brie - which came with tomato relish and a good amount of dressed rocket  on the side. It was nice to have a bit of variation besides just brie and we both enjoyed this very much. 

The striploin steaks we both went for were also good, (albiet that mine happened to be juicier and tastier than K’s but such is often the way with steak). We received one side to share included in the price (chips) and also ordered a side of mash (€4).  The chips were decent, well browned and cooked in what I would guess was oil not beef/duck/goose fat (you can get spoiled with that!) . However the mash did however have a slight reheated tang off it. (I’m not sure how some restaurants manage to avoid this-I'd love to know myself.) Another plus about this place was their generosity with side salad on the starter and the main, much more than the customary garnish you often get in restaurants. Our request to substitute the peppercorn sauce on offer with béarnaise was also accommodated without a blink. (though this turned out to be just ok and lacking a bit of the the characteristic tarragon/vinegar bite.)

All was fine, and then...we tried to get the bill. We had been the sole diners when we first arrived but at this stage there were three more tables occupied. (and 2 people on the floor). When we did manage to request it, it took a further 15 minutes to arrive at which point I had seriously considered just leaving what we owed there on the table and walking out. When it was all weighed up, we had eaten a good but not great meal and the lack of service at the end would probably help dissuade me from returning again. That might sound harsh but the food just wasn’t good enough for that to be overlooked. There's just too many other places out there to try. 

Edelwise Swiss 'Raclette and Fondue' Restaurant, Ranelagh

If it’s true that nine in ten new restaurants close in their first year of opening, the site of the newly opened Edelwise in Ranelagh village really seems to be a case in point. There was a noodle place here for what seemed like just a couple of months and the café before that didn’t seem to last much longer. Edelwise was a first for me, a Swiss "Raclette and Fondue” Restaurant. I think it might also be a first for Dublin?

There was just one other table occupied when we arrived on a Wednesday evening just after 7pm. It’s all about cheese here, with several cheese heavy starters on offer as well as, raclettes (I would later learn what these were), a few main courses such as Chicken Cordon Bleu and fondues. 

The front of house was run by a solitary gentleman who I presumed to be Swiss with the 'new' interior pretty much as I remembered it to be in its former incarnation as the Door 51 Café.  It still gives out much more of a casual dining vibe than that of a fully priced restaurant with the most obvious change I could see the placement of a big vase of fresh tulips on each table.  

 

I'd honestly never even heard of a raclette before but, since it was a house speciality, we decided to order 2 starter sized ones and see what arrived. (We knew from the menu that it involved cheese but that was all)The maitre d/waiter seemed surprised that we wanted to follow them with fondue deeming this to be “unusual”. I guessed by now that this is because of their similarity. Anyway, lots of cheese was on its way and all was good with the world. 

I went on to learn that a raclette is basically a bowl of hot melted cheese served with with some bits and bobs to dip in it. Ours came with some really lovely bresola, a few tiny pickled onions, gherkins and a bowl of baby potatoes. It was nice and I ate it all, but it really wasn’t something I’d order again. It just wasn't very exciting. 

The fondues struck me as being quite expensive initially,  priced around the 17 – 24e mark (per person) with a 2e supplement added for single portions. Variations included mushroom and tomato with the different flavours accompanied by different things to dip,  including different vegetables, bread and pickles. We went for one portion of the 7 cheese fondue which was just served with bread so we also ordered some gherkins to break things up a bit.One portion turned out to be loads for 2, however.

I hate to say it but it was pretty disappointing. It looked great, a big pot of molten cheese served with lots of cubes of very nice bread but the expected cheesiness....there was none!

I was aware that authentic fondue involved the inclusion of Kirsch (cherry brandy) but Oh my God we could hardly taste the cheese! It wasn't inedible but I kept thinking of those seven lovely cheeses obliterated by too heavy a hand with the old booze. My instinct that this wasn’t how it was meant to be was confirmed I think by the fact that we could hear our host loudly coaching the  chef through the procedure of making each dish step by step, from the little cubby/kitchen. That was pretty off-putting. 

Despite the fact that we didn’t leave a lot of the fondue behind, we were also bemused to get a little lecture before we left on the quality of the 7 cheeses and the restaurants reasoning for charging so much!  I'll admit I was a coward, and didn't tell him that we could hardly taste these cheese partially because I wasn't totally sure if that was how it was ‘meant to be’ .

I did like some elements of this restaurant and will probably give it another whirl in a few months when the new owners have 'settled in' a bit more.